Caladium bicolor (Ait.) Vent., Araceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Threat only at high elevations?  no

Other Latin names:  Caladium x hortulanum Birdsey

Common name(s): [more details]

Chamorro: corazon de Santa Maria

English: artist's pallet, caladium, elephant's ear, fancy-leaf caladium, heart of Jesus

Niuean: talotalo

Habit:  herb

Description: 

Genus: "Erect terrestrial herbs with short or obsolete stems, tuberous rhizomes, elongate petioles, and usually peltate, sagittate leaves, peduncles elongate, unbranched; spathe tubular at base, expanded distally, constricted at the throat; spadix shorter than spathe, nude basally, then with pistillage flowers, then a sterile portion, then with staminate flowers; flowers unisexual, naked; staminate flowers with 3-5 stamens forming a truncate synandrium; piltillate flowers with 2-3-celled ovary; cells with several ovules in 2 rows, anatropous; fruit a berry with several or many small ovoid seeds."  (Stone, 1970)

Species:  "Blades with various patterns of pink and white spots or blotches, peltate, sagittate-cordate; mostly 10-20 cm long, occasionally larger; lower surface slightly glaucous"  (Stone, 1970; p.119).

"Herb, perennial, stemless, to 50 cm high (20 in) or more, arising from a globose rhizome.  Leaves simple, alternate, blade peltate, arrowhead- or heart-shaped, usually 20-40 cm long (8-16 in), variously colored with spots and blotches of red, plink, or white or all three colors.  Flowers infrequently during the year;  flowers many, borne tightly packed in a cylindrical spadix usually 6-10 cm long (2 1/2 - 4 in) on a short stalk, surrounded by a slightly longer, ovate, whitish spathe attached at the base.  Fruit a pear-shaped white berry, infrequently formed in cultivation."  (Whistler, 2000; pp. 97-98).

Habitat/ecology:  "Fertile, moist, but well-drained soils in partially or fully shaded places are preferred" (Whistler, 2000; p. 98).

Propagation:  Seed, locally by rhizomes.

Native range:  Amazon region of Brazil (Stone, 1970; p.119).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (US) Northern Mariana Islands	Tinian Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1987) (p. 90)
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	‘Atiu Island	cultivated	McCormack, Gerald (2007)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) San Cristóbal Group	San Cristóbal Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Research Station (2005)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Santa Cruz Group	Santa Cruz Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Research Station (2005)
Federated States of Micronesia Chuuk Islands	Dublon (Tonowas) Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1987) (p. 90)
Federated States of Micronesia Chuuk Islands	Tol Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1987) (p. 90)
Federated States of Micronesia Kosrae Island	Kosrae Island		Lorence, David H./Flynn, Tim (2005) (p. 6)
Federated States of Micronesia Pohnpei Islands	Pohnpei Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1987) (p. 90)
Federated States of Micronesia Pohnpei Islands	Pohnpei Island	introduced cultivated	Glassman, S. F. (1952) (p. 108)
Federated States of Micronesia Yap Islands	Yap (Waqab) Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1987) (p. 90)
Fiji Fiji Islands	Fiji Islands	introduced cultivated	Smith, Albert C. (1979) (p. 458)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced cultivated	Welsh, S. L. (1998) (pp. 306-307) Voucher cited: BRY 26023
French Polynesia Tuamotu Archipelago	Takapoto Atoll	introduced cultivated	Sachet, M-H. (1983) (p. 16)
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Stone, Benjamin C. (1970) (p. 119) Mostly cultivated, sparingly escaped. Voucher cited: Stone 4170 (GUAM)
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1987) (p. 90)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island	introduced cultivated	Imada, Clyde T./Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. (2006) (p. Voucher specimen) Voucher cited: Herbst 5596 (BISH 409953)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island	introduced cultivated	Imada, Clyde T./Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. (2006) (p. Voucher specimen) Voucher cited: Lorence 7215 (BISH 627775)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced cultivated	Imada, Clyde T./Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. (2006) (p. Voucher specimens) Vouchers cited: Potter s.n. (BISH 115535), Judd s.n. (BISH 115536)
Kiribati Tungaru (Gilbert) Islands	Butaritari Atoll	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, M.-H. (1987) (p. 8)
Kiribati Tungaru (Gilbert) Islands	Tarawa Atoll	introduced cultivated	Space, James C./Imada, Clyde T. (2004) (p. 73)
Kiribati Tungaru (Gilbert) Islands	Tarawa Atoll	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, M.-H. (1987) (p. 8)
Marshall Islands Ralik Chain	Jaluit (Jãlwõj) Atoll	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1987) (p. 90)
Marshall Islands Ralik Chain	Kwajalein (Kuwajleen) Atoll	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1987) (p. 90)
Marshall Islands Ralik Chain	Kwajalein (Kuwajleen) Atoll	introduced cultivated	Whistler, W. A./Steele, O. (1999) (p. 104)
Marshall Islands Ratak Chain	Majuro (Mãjro) Atoll	introduced cultivated	Vander Velde, Nancy (2003) (p. 26)
Nauru Nauru Island	Nauru Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1987) (p. 90)
Nauru Nauru Island	Nauru Island	introduced cultivated	Thaman, R. R./Fosberg, F. R./Manner, H. I./Hassall, D. C. (1994) (p. 40) Vouchers cited: Fosberg 58717 (US), Fosberg 58793 (US)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 17) Vouchers cited: MacKee 37471, MacKee 37472
Niue Niue	Niue Island	introduced cultivated	Sykes, W. R. (1970) (p. 222) Voucher cited: CHR 169958
Niue Niue	Niue Island	introduced cultivated	Yuncker, T. G. (1943) (p. 31) Voucher cited: Yuncker 9963 (BISH)
Niue Niue	Niue Island	introduced cultivated	Space, James C./Waterhouse, Barbara M./Newfield, Melanie/Bull, Cate (2004) (p. 39)
Palau Palau (main island group)	Angaur Island	introduced cultivated	Space, James C./Waterhouse, Barbara/Miles, Joel E./Tiobech, Joseph/Rengulbai, Kashgar (2003) (p. 103)
Palau Palau (main island group)	Babeldaob Island	introduced invasive	Space, James C./Waterhouse, Barbara/Miles, Joel E./Tiobech, Joseph/Rengulbai, Kashgar (2003) (p. 100)
Palau Palau (main island group)	Koror Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1987) (p. 90)
Palau Palau (main island group)	Koror Island	introduced invasive	Space, James C./Waterhouse, Barbara/Miles, Joel E./Tiobech, Joseph/Rengulbai, Kashgar (2003) (p. 96)
Palau Palau (main island group)	Koror Island	introduced cultivated	Lorence, David H./Flynn, Tim (1998) (p. 6)
Palau Palau (main island group)	Ngerkebesang Island	introduced cultivated	Space, James C./Waterhouse, Barbara/Miles, Joel E./Tiobech, Joseph/Rengulbai, Kashgar (2003) (p. 96)
Palau Palau (main island group)	Peleliu Island	introduced cultivated	Space, James C./Waterhouse, Barbara/Miles, Joel E./Tiobech, Joseph/Rengulbai, Kashgar (2003) (p. 106)
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands	Solomon Islands	introduced cultivated	Hancock, I. R./Henderson, C. P. (1988) (p. 53)
United States (other Pacific offshore islands) Wake Islands	Wake Island	introduced cultivated	Fosberg, F. R. (1959) (p. 10) Caladium sp. Planted around houses.
United States (other Pacific offshore islands) Wake Islands	Wake Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, M.-H. (1969) (p. 6) Not seen in 1961 or 1963.

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Colombia Colombia	Colombia (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia (Indian Ocean offshore islands) Christmas Island Group	Christmas Island	introduced cultivated	Swarbrick, J. T. (1997) (p. 107)

Additional information:  Additional online information about Caladium bicolor is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Taxonomic information about Caladium bicolor may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Charles Darwin Research Station. 2005. CDRS Herbarium records.

Fosberg, F. R. 1959. Vegetation and flora of Wake Island. Atoll Research Bulletin 67. Pacific Science Board, National Academy of Sciences, Washington. 20 pp.

Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, M.-H. 1969. Wake Island vegetation and flora, 1961-1963. Atoll Research Bulletin No. 123. Smithsonian Institution, Washington. 15 pp.

Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, M.-H. 1987. Flora of the Gilbert Islands, Kiribati, checklist. Atoll Res. Bull. 295:1-33.

Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce. 1987. A geographical checklist of the Micronesian monocotyledonae. Micronesica 20:1-126.

Glassman, S. F. 1952. The flora of Ponape. Bishop Mus. Bull. 209: 1-152.

Hancock, I. R./Henderson, C. P. 1988. Flora of the Solomon Islands. Research Bulletin No. 7. Ministry of Agriculture and Lands, Honiara. 203 pp.

Imada, Clyde T./Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. 2006. Annotated checklist of cultivated plants of Hawai‘i (online searchable database).

Lorence, David H./Flynn, Tim. 1998. Checklist of the plants of Palau. Unpublished checklist. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Hawai‘i. 40 pp.

Lorence, David H./Flynn, Tim. 2005. Checklist of the plants of Kosrae. Unpublished checklist. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Hawai‘i. 23 pp.

MacKee, H. S. 1994. Catalogue des plantes introduites et cultivées en Nouvelle-Calédonie. Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, 164 p.

McCormack, Gerald. 2007. Cook Islands biodiversity and natural heritage. On-line database.

Sachet, M-H. 1983. Takapoto Atoll, Tuamotu Archipelago: terrestrial vegetation and flora. Atoll Research Bulletin No. 277. Smithsonian Institution, Washington. 41 pp. + photos.

Smith, Albert C. 1979. Flora Vitiensis nova: a new flora of Fiji. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Kauai, Hawaii. Volume 1. 494 pp.

Space, James C./Imada, Clyde T. 2004. Report to the Republic of Kiribati on invasive plant species on the islands of Tarawa, Abemama, Butaritari and Maiana. Cont. no. 2003-006 to the Pac. Biol. Surv. USDA Forest Service and Bishop Museum, Honolulu. 103 pp.

Space, James C./Waterhouse, Barbara M./Newfield, Melanie/Bull, Cate. 2004. Report to the Government of Niue and the United Nations Development Programme: Invasive plant species on Niue following Cyclone Heta. UNDP NIU/98/G31 - Niue Enabling Activity. 80 pp.

Space, James C./Waterhouse, Barbara/Miles, Joel E./Tiobech, Joseph/Rengulbai, Kashgar. 2003. Report to the Republic of Palau on invasive plant species of environmental concern. USDA Forest Service, Honolulu. 174 pp.

Stone, Benjamin C. 1970. The flora of Guam. Micronesica 6:1-659.

Swarbrick, J. T. 1997. Environmental weeds and exotic plants on Christmas Island, Indian Ocean: a report to Parks Australia. 101 pp. plus appendix.

Swarbrick, John T. 1997. Weeds of the Pacific Islands. Technical paper no. 209. South Pacific Commission, Noumea, New Caledonia. 124 pp.

Sykes, W. R. 1970. Contributions to the flora of Niue. New Zealand Department of Scientific and Industrial Research Bulletin 200, Wellington. 321 pp.

Thaman, R. R./Fosberg, F. R./Manner, H. I./Hassall, D. C. 1994. The flora of Nauru. Smithsonian Institution, Washington. Atoll Research Bulletin 392:1-223.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2007. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Vander Velde, Nancy. 2003. The vascular plants of Majuro Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands. Smithsonian Institution, Atoll Research Bulletin No. 503:1-141.

Welsh, S. L. 1998. Flora Societensis: A summary revision of the flowering plants of the Society Islands. E.P.S. Inc., Orem, Utah. 420 pp.

Whistler, W. A. 2000. Tropical ornamentals: a guide. Timber Press, Portland, Oregon. 542 pp.

Whistler, W. A./Steele, O. 1999. Botanical survey of the United States of America Kwajalein Atoll (USAKA) Islands. Prepared for Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education and the U. S. Army Environmental Center. 111 pp.

Yuncker, T. G. 1943. The flora of Niue Island. Bishop Mus. Bull. 178. Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 126 pp.